92nd ♫ | the quietness, profoundly consuming silence

[mytarget]

The Murder Game Meme



You know the script. You wake up in a place you've never seen before, with a whole bunch of complete strangers and there's a mysterious voice or a mascot or what have you ready to let you know how things are going to work around here.

The rules are simple: You're trapped here, with no hope of release or rescue. You've been provided with all the basic necessities you need to live comfortably, and all you have to do is settle down and live out the rest of your days here in peace. But if you can't do that -- if you're really so desperate to escape that you'll do anything -- then there's one teeny tiny thing you have to do first.

All you have to do is kill somebody.

But it's not quite that simple. Every death will be followed by a period of investigation, followed by a trial in which the survivors will attempt to solve the mystery and out the culprit. If the survivors guess correctly and out the culprit, the killer is executed and life goes on. But if the survivors guess wrong, then the culprit is free as a bird and everyone else is executed.

Even with the promise of freedom, can you really bring yourself to kill so many other people?

tl;dr: it's a murdergame meme. TIME TO HAVE A BIG OL' MURDERGAME BLAST.


Settings

1. High School A classic! Doesn't matter if you're too old or too young to be in high school -- you've been enrolled and the only way for you to graduate is to kill a fellow student. But hey, the faculties are nice!
2. Tropical Island Weren't you just hankering for a nice tropical vacation? No? Too bad! You're going to have a nice sunny vacation at the beach and if you don't like it, just kill someone and go home. Simple!
3. Prison It doesn't matter if you don't remember committing any crime; you've been tried and found guilty of something or other and now you can go ahead and rot away in jail. If you ever want to see the sunlight again, better put that criminal mind to good use and get rid of your inmates.
4. Mall A huge mall stuffed full of stores, places to eat and all the regular amenities like deadbolted doors and the threat of death. It's like Black Friday but even worse because you can't leave and all the rest of the shoppers might actually kill you for real this time.
5. City Holy shit, you've got the run of a whole city this time around! Maybe with all this room to keep out of each other's way, you'll be able to make sure no one starts killing people. But probably not.
6. Cruise Boat YOU'RE ON A BOAT, MOTHERFUCKER. The accommodation is all five star, even if there's no one around to act as wait staff. The only snag is that you still have this whole murder thing hanging over your head – but on the plus side, they have those little drinks with the umbrellas in, so...
7. Space Station THE FINAL FRONTIER... Maybe you're familiar with space stations like this or maybe all this future tech is fascinating to you. Not like it matters either way, of course, because you won't be getting out of here unless you lay down a murder on someone.
8. Wildcard! None of the above scratch your murder itch? Go wild and come up with your own setting!



Downtime

1. Excuse Me, Who Are You? You've just woken up in this weird place and you have no idea what's going on. But hey -- maybe this stranger's more informed than you. Or maybe you can put your heads together and investigate what's going on.
2. Social Link Go! Well, if you're going to be stuck in here for however long, you might as well get to know the people stuck in here with you. You've got plenty of rooms to explore together and there's enough to do to keep you occupied. How do you plan on passing time without killing each other?
3. Vending Machine Woes Somewhere in this place there's a mysterious vending machine that spits out all manner of bizarre items and occasionally dispenses items that belong to you and the other people trapped here. You've got a fat stack of tokens and nothing to lose.
4. The Corners of My Mind So as it turns out, your lovely hosts have been fiddling with your memories. Maybe you're just discovering this now or maybe you've had a particularly upsetting memory regain you're dealing with.
4. Wildcard! GO WILD AND BE FREE (or as free as you can be here, anyways)



PUTTING THE MURDER IN MURDER GAME

1. Motive Your mysterious overseer has decided there's not nearly enough murder going on and so they've ~helpfully~ given you a little push to do the deed. Maybe one of your loved ones is in danger, maybe they're offering more money than you could ever dream of or they're threatening to reveal your deepest darkest secrets. Whatever is it, would you kill for it?
2. Murder WELL APPARENTLY, YES. Are you a killer or are you being killed? Either way, someone's not walking away from this alive.
3. Body Discovery Rise and shine, murdergame! It's a brand new day and someone's dead. Better get investigating!
4. Trial You know how this one goes. Line up all your evidence and sniff out the killer -- or sit there and sweat and hope no one works out you're the murderer. Will they go down with a confession or put up a fight?
5. Afterparty You've survived another trial, but more of your friends have died. Even without the executions, trials are a stressful enough affair. It's time to destress and lick your wounds and support each other.
6. Mastermind It's the end. It's time to uncover all the mysteries behind this murder game -- and find out just who trapped you here. Are they really an unconnected party, or is the mastermind someone among you...?
7. Freedom Just as it says -- you're finally free, but at what cost? Have those you love been returned to you, or are you still reduced to just those who made it to the end? Are you on your own, or is anyone here to help you? And more importantly, how the hell are you going to get home?
8. Wildcard YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO


OPTIONAL FUN

Lots of murdergames have in-universe public profiles for other characters to get the skinny on yours. If you'd like to fill one out to post with your toplevel, peep at the code below!

<center><b>Name:</b> NAME | <b>TITLE (Super High School Level, Ultimate, Champion, etc)</b> <b>Age:</b> AGE | <b>Species:</b> SPECIES | <b>Occupation:</b> OCCUPATION <b>Likes:</b> LIKES <b>Dislikes:</b> DISLIKES <b>Traits:</b> A HANDFUL OF NOTABLE TRAITS <b>Trivia:</b> A PIECE OF TRIVIA</ul>

Comments

Rhee Wilde (last name still a WIP) | Etrian Odyssey OC

[guildedlily]

Name: Rhys "Rhee" Wilde | Healthy, Wealthy, and...? | Champion Angel Investor | Resourceful
Age: 21 | Species: Human | Occupation: Medic
Likes: Maps, mysteries, freedom, rough-and-tumble types
Dislikes: F.O.E.s, stuffiness, being pampered
Traits: Adventuresome, responsible, wily
Trivia: Rhee died once. He's insurmountably proud of his guild for ensuring that, so far, it's only been once.

[Despite his reported fondness for 'rough-and-tumble types,' Rhee himself doesn't come across as rambunctious so much as amiably free-spirited. Yes, he loves a thrill, and it's his job as a medic and co-leader of his adventuring guild to make sure everyone returns from their thrills in one piece.

When new areas open, he's up bright and early to draw detailed maps and search for what may be hidden, and downtime always finds him up for a chat. During investigations and trials, however, he's a sober, level-headed body toucher. While he's not the best at visualizing the order of events, the evidence he contributes is precise. At afterparties, he makes an effort to check on those who seem to need it, but he then tends to withdraw into a thoughtful silence of his own, often over a drink.

He makes a point not to go out alone at night.]

[giddyundertaker]

[ After a concerning amount of squinting at the profiles, the local Undertaker has taken quite an interest in that bit of trivia there.

So off he goes to bother Rhee! He could have gotten the man's attention normally, but he thinks it might be funny if he suddenly slid right in front of him with a grin. ]

So! I hear you've managed to cheat death somehow!

[ He looks way too excited about this, considering his profession. ]

[guildedlily]

Wh-whoa, uh!

[Rhee hops back a step back from the Undertaker's abrupt appearance, clutching for a satchel that isn't slung where it should be across his shoulder. Though he's not the jumpy type by nature, coming to in a strange place with neither his things nor his friends has put him perhaps a tad on edge. Once his mind makes sense of what he's seeing, he offers an awkward smile.]

...Yyyyes? Just the one time, you know?

excuse the icons, this journal's brand new.

[giddyundertaker]

[ He can't help but giggle at that poor man's reaction. He's pulling his arms to his chest- a funny position for someone hiding his hands in those oversized sleeves. ]

Heh hee! Funny thing 'bout that. Most people only die once, then they don't come back again!

[ He would know. Clearly. Unless this bloke has never seen an undertaker before.

He leans in without warning. ] So how'd you come back?

No worries at all, I've only got, like, seven icons myself

[guildedlily]

[He leans in and Rhee leans back, but the turn in the conversation seems to surprise him just as much as the space invasion.]

What, you don't have an apothecary in service where you're from?

[giddyundertaker]

An apothecary? [ He tilts his head as the smile fades a bit from his face. ] Oh, no. We have doctors and all. It's just that no one's discovered a perfect cure for death!

[ Not yet, anyway. ]

[guildedlily]

Ah! Well, it's definitely not perfect. Most cases where it works are Labyrinth explorers, so you get a lot of sudden massive trauma, exsanguination, that sort of thing. [He sweeps his hair back from his forehead and looks upward, like the answer's somewhere above the ceiling.] It's usually a matter of getting them topside again fast enough to replace the blood and restart their organs before the damage is medically irreversible.

[Simple enough!]

--Or having a competent medic already on the ground to deal with it, but that doesn't exactly work when it's the medic getting squashed, right? So the apothecary does good business.

[giddyundertaker]

Hm... [ He tilts his head and... Smirks? ]

My, what a funny world you live in. I wonder where your team got enough blood to revive you from?

[guildedlily]

Wellllll, that would've been up to the town apothecary, not them. I was the squashy medic in this case.

[Entirely literally.]

Why the interest in my resurrection, Mister...?

forgive my super expired icons

[tigerpoet]

What do you want?

[B-tsushi, as Rhee has come to know him, doesn't often make appearances. Now that Rhee knows the signs of what he's looking for, he can tell he takes over for executions so that Atsushi doesn't witness them himself. Other than that, he seems to prefer to let Atsushi do the driving, so to speak.

But when Rhee asks for him during the week's downtime, B-tsushi will take over, looking more sulky than anything.]

[guildedlily]

[Rhee holds his hands up with exaggeratedly wide eyes.]

What, I can't ask to see a friend?

[As if anticipating something snide in response, Rhee proceeds without pause, shaking his head and as his hands slide comfortably into his coat pockets.]

Kidding, kidding. Well, not entirely, but that's besides the point. I've told you before, it's my responsibility to look after everyone's well-being. Everyone's.

[He says the last meaningfully, leaning forward with a firm look in his eyes. Put it together, B-tsushi.]

[tigerpoet]

As long as Atsushi is fine, I'm fine. If you want to fuss over me, worry about him instead.

[Also, they're not friends, excuse you.]

[guildedlily]

Nope. Can't shake me that easily, I'm afraid. You see and feel things he doesn't, so you need your own check-up. Or we can call it a check-in, if that's better?

[tigerpoet]

Whatever you call it, make it quick.

[grump grump GRUMP]

[guildedlily]

Sure, sure. So! How are you?

[tigerpoet]

Could be better. I'm being hassled by a busybody.

[it's you. you're the busybody.]

[guildedlily]

I see. [He pretends to write this down studiously in his notebook.] And how would you rate the pain of this hassling on a scale from one to ten?

[tigerpoet]

About a five. Better than being stabbed, but still annoying.

[guildedlily]

[That gets Rhee to snicker, but it also gets him to put his pen down and sober a little.]

Really, though. How are you? You're the one experiencing this whole...

[As if unable to find the word, he waves his hand vaguely at their surroundings. This Whole Everything.]

...this, on your own. You're taking most of the heavy hits for A-tsushi. How are you doing?

[tigerpoet]

...It's frustrating to be stuck here. Usually, if there's an enemy I can just fight them and be done with it. I'm not stuck waiting.

[But their mastermind hasn't made a personal appearance, probably to prevent exactly that from happening.]

[guildedlily]

...Yeah. I don't like it, either.

[He glances away, almost uncharacteristically grim as he considers their limited options.]

Frankly, I'm used to being able to force things through, one way or another. I guess this is just one more way to "motivate" us to kill. The frustration, I mean. I wonder if they picked active types like us on purpose so we'd wear down faster.

[tigerpoet]

The longer you don't kill anyone, the more in danger you are of someone else deciding to kill you instead. Or us getting a case wrong and wiping ourselves out.

And if you're the kind of person who gets attached, like Atsushi, even not seeing the executions doesn't make losing people every week much easier.

[He's doing what he can to help his other half, but he can't keep those people from dying in the first place.]

[guildedlily]

Of course not. Watching it happen is terrible enough. The wound they leave where they used to be--that's worse.

[Rhee doesn't have an alternate personality looking out for him. He gets both sides of the hurt all to himself.]

[tigerpoet]

[not having a split personality sounds like a personal problem to him]

I don't know why you get attached when you know that they're probably not going to make it. You and he are both too softhearted.

[guildedlily]

[Now he looks a little sad.]

You really don't care about anyone here?